10 years on XMarks, where has the time gone?

[McMurdo]

10 years ago today I signed up for this forum, I was looking for help in repairing an older kilt, my fathers old Gunn Modern. There have been lots of changes in my life in the past decade, but one constant, well almost constant, has been XMarks. I have taken breaks from this forum, I even started up a kilt forum of my own that lasted a few years, but I have always come back here and felt most at home here. I was a moderator for a while years ago and have made friendships through this forum that I hope will last the rest of my life. As this is a momentous occasion for me I thought I would look back on some of my earliest attempts at highland wear in contrast to the way I do it now. Below is my first photo of me in my Prince Charlie



Here is the last time I wore a Prince Charlie



Everything has changed, in the first shot I am wearing white hose, in the second I am wearing Argyll hose made to match the tartan I designed. In the first shot I am wearing the black shoes I had on hand, in the second I am wearing buckle brogues, since the second photo was taken I have purchased two more sets of buckles to go on the shoes, one set chrome and one set silver. The bow tie in the first was a clip on, in the second it is a self tie. The shirt in the first is a wing tip in the second it is a lay down. In the first shot the kilt was my dad's old kilt, in the second it is a kilt made for me by Barb Tewksbury in the tartan I designed. In the first shot the Prince Charlie was an offshore model in the second it was made in Scotland. In the first shot the sporran was leather dress model in the second it is a sealskin dress sporran, as for the sgian dubh, in the first photo it is a plastic sgian dubh that came marked as an envelope opener, in the second it is prized family heirloom having been carved by my girlfriends grandfather.

All in all I would say while I would be at home in the first outfit at any number of Scottish events, I would feel much more comfortable in the second outfit. The same can be said for my more casual outfits, all this great change can be attributed to this forum and it's members, who have guided me toward the look I have achieved today. Recently I posted photos of our latest kilt night and someone remarked that the gent with the beard looked like a real Scot. I took that as a compliment, even though I am a proud Canadian, because what it said to me was that I was doing it right. I could not have done it without all those on this forum, it has been an interesting decade, I have felt every emotion you can imagine reading these pages, most of them while I was a moderator, but for the most part it has been a joyful experience and I would not have missed it for the world. A special thank you goes out to all those who were here when I arrived who showed me the way and to the staff of this forum, past and present, it is an honour to be counted among your ranks, and a special thank you to Steve for keeping this place here for us all.